Pets Blog

Many people are taking many steps to try and live an eco-friendly lifestyle. One area in our lives that is easy to go “green” in, and often gets overlooked, is our pets. Here are five easy changes you can make to start being a more environmentally friendly pet owner:

• Don’t use a lint roller. Instead, use a Fur-Zoff to clean up pet hair. Fur-Zoff is made from recycled materials and lasts forever. Lint rollers waste tons of paper, plastic, and money. A Fur-Zoff is only $9.99 at FurZoff.net
•  Use biodegradable pet waste bags. Don’t use a plastic bag for picking up the presents your pet leaves behind in the yard. Opt for a biodegradable bag, or even better, try using the stuff for compost.
• Eat Green. Buy organic pet food. It may cost a little more but it’s a simple step to take. Newman’s Own Organics is a good option for pet food.
• Play Green. Make pet toys out of old stuff or buy toys made from recycled materials. Look around your garage; I’m sure you have something that will work. Get creative!
• Adopt from a shelter. There are more pets than people born every day. Too many and the planet won’t be able to sustain the population

This is just a start to becoming a “green” pet owner. They’re simple steps to take, but you’ll be surprised at the difference they make. Take the time to share with friends and family the changes you are making in being a “green” pet owner. It will help everyone make the changes together, resulting in a better environment for us and our furry friends.

When looking for a pet, you will find both dogs for adoption and dogs for sale. You can show you kindness by selecting to adopt a pet instead of buying one. Before carrying out the adoption process you need to ensure that you have taken your time in researching on the different types of breeds in the market. This will allow you to find the breed that is suitable for your needs and you will also have the tips on how best to take care of these animals while they are under your care.

When you are visiting the shelters and adoption fairs, there are a number of things you should keep in mind. You should avoid making snap decisions based on your emotions or on the cuteness of the dogs for adoption. It is recommended that you visit different shelters in order to find the animal that best suits you needs. When handling the animal, ensure that the shelter staff or volunteer is around to help you. This will allow you to see how the animals react to them so that you can determine if they are aggressive or shy.

Just like with dogs for sale, ensure that you ask as many questions about these pets as possible in order to find out the ways to handle them better. You must also find out the history of the pets. Find out why they ended up in the shelter in the first place and also the status they are in. It is therefore advisable that you examine the animal in a different setting in order to establish their behavior. It is also advisable that you select a shelter that carries out good sanitation practices as well as vaccinates the animals because many of them are exposed to diseases before or once it gets into the shelter. To ensure that they are healthy, take them to the vet soon after the adoption.

When you are moving with pets a certain amount of issues exist which will need to be settled. Many of these have to be organised in good time prior to the move itself, and must not be put on the long finger. The key thing that you must not neglect when moving with pets is that they will not understand what is happening. In many ways you can regard them as being like young children, and therefore you are expected to always have everything prepared for them in advance. While usually grown ups and even children can adapt to last minute arrangements, you must always ensure that every aspect of the move which affects your pet or pets is arranged well in advance. Of course animals like hamsters and rabbits will be used to their cages, more sizeable household pets such as cats and dogs will be attached to the house and its environs. Typically this environment is the center of their world and they become quite attached to them. If it happens that you must move cats or dogs into a new home, you cannot forget that that they may not adapt to the change very well.

While at first some creatures are very curious, when they become tired they will want to return to their old hants. This may last over a number of weeks, and can increase the level of stress which will typically be felt by the pet’s owners. Although this is almost guaranteed, there are some things that can be done to help your animals in this situation. First off, try to not leave your pet alone for a long period of time in the new property until the animal is fully settled. They will be agitated and will be craving the home to which they were accustomed, they may begin to feel abandoned in a strange place and become frustrated. There is a strong possibility that you will return to your house to see your belongings wrecked or your garden ripped to pieces.  Read more...

Pet owners should know the sex of their pets, and dwarf hamster owners are no exception. It is not enough to ensure that they are cleaned, housed and fed; it is necessary to know whether you own a male or a female hamster as well.

As easy as it sounds, sexing dwarf hamsters can pose quite a challenge, most especially for new owners who know nothing about it.

This is because the tiny built of these hamsters makes it hard to determine their sex. Moreover, they are very fast and always moving around, and this surely makes sexing dwarf hamsters all the more difficult.

There are different varieties of dwarf hamsters. You will find that one of the most elusive and skittish hamsters are the Roborovski hamsters. If you have these at home, you probably know what I am talking about. If you have one of those Chinese dwarf hamsters, lucky you! These are easier to check since the males have more visible testicles as they are larger in size compared to most.

However, it is important to take note that when sexing dwarf hamsters, you need to exert some effort to make sure you get it right. Remember that these little ones are very energetic and move real fast. If you are not careful and gentle with them, you could end up hurting these little creatures.

When sexing dwarf hamsters, here are a few guidelines to prevent hurting your pet. The first thing to do is to check the scent gland which is visible in the male species. It is a yellow stain found somewhere around the belly button. All you need to do is to hold the dwarf hamster with its back resting on the palm of your hand. Your index finger and your thumb should be holding its chin or legs.  Read more...

UTI, or urinary tract infection, isn’t something found only in humans. Dogs also get it, though females are more susceptible to it, due to the shorter urethra. Male dogs still get it, though it’s rare.

When UTI is in its first stages in a dog, it’s usually not harmful, and the usual signs might not be noticed easily. In some cases, these infections will resolve themselves in dogs, without any intervention from a vet.

If it does not resolve and it isn’t treated for a longer time period, the infection might advance and damage the urinary system of the dog.

People have to realize when their dog is suffering, since he can’t just tell them that he is in pain. You as an owner need to know the UTI symptoms and you have to know what they are when you see them in your dog.

Some of the UTI symptoms in a dog are lethargy, fatigue, bloody urine, fever, stomach tenderness, urine smell that is foul, urination in places that aren’t appropriate, having problems with urination and licking the genital area constantly. If you notice one or more of these signs, you should take your dog for a control, at the vet.

Urinary tract infections appear because of bacteria that invade the system of the dog, causing infection and inflammation. This bacteria enters the body of the dog either through water or food that are contaminated.

Also, it could enter the system through the external urinary opening of a dog, which go into the urethra. The blood and the lymphatic system are used by the bacteria to spread into the organism and if its not treated it can infect the kidneys, ureter, urethra, prostate and bladder.  Read more...